Churches to offer some relief from rising gas prices

CHESAPEAKE

Salvation from pain at the pump is coming on Sunday at Exodus Faith Ministries, where gas cards totaling $800 to $1,000 will be given away in a drawing.

"The church ought to be a place where you look not just to be preached at, but to get some practical help," said Bishop E. W. Jackson Sr., the church's founding pastor.

Visitors attending the church's 11:30 a.m. service at 1701 Park Ave. will qualify for the drawing, which will determine who gets cards valued at $20, $25, $50 or $100 worth of gasoline.

To be eligible, visitors cannot belong to Exodus or any other church. They must sit through the service and also provide vehicle registration to prove they are a licensed owner or primary operator of a vehicle.

"We believe that God loves people and cares about their every day cares and concerns," Jackson said.

"In my opinion, based on the pain I sense that people are feeling, it's already a crisis," he said of gas prices. He said the church began giving gas cards to congregants a year ago, and will continue doing so.

According to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service, gas now averages $3.61 a gallon in Hampton Roads, compared with $3.20 a month ago and $2.90 a year ago.

Jackson said the giveaway for visitors will continue each Sunday.

He acknowledged that the free gas offer for visitors could drive evangelism by drawing into church people who otherwise might not come.

On Saturday, Calvary Road Baptist Church, another Chesapeake congregation, will

blend community service and evangelism with a "gas buy-down."

The church is paying a BP station at Centerville Turnpike and Mount Pleasant Road to drop the gas price by 15 cents a gallon from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Church volunteers will wash windshields, distribute free water and hand out invitations to church services.

The Rev. Harry Vanderford, Calvary's pastor, said the buy-down also will help his congregation become better known. The church has no building of its own and meets at Butts Road Intermediate School.

In March, a buy-down by Believers Church in Chesapeake dropped the pump price at a Taylor Road gas station to $1.99 a gallon.

The 2 1/2-hour discount attracted hordes of drivers who were given cards inviting them to come to Believers' worship services.

Jackson said the gas card giveaway was one way of demonstrating to public officials the desperate need for action to reduce gas prices.

Exodus is scheduling a news conference at 11 a.m. Sunday, where people can talk about how high prices have affected their families, he said.

For more information on the gas cards, contact Exodus at (866) 573-0772 or exfmn@exfmn.org. The church is on the Web at www.Exodus

FaithMinistries.org.

Steven G. Vegh, (757) 446-2417, steven.vegh@pilotonline.com